New York: June 10, 2019: Girls are born brave, knowing they can conquer anything. It’s society that says otherwise, sometimes in the most inconspicuous of ways, like not having a scientist girl dress on the market. Annie The Brave, a new girls clothing brand making STEM-inspired dresses to instill bravery in little girls, surpassed its’ $13,000 crowdfunding goal, raising $14,004 in 30 days.
Kickstarter statistics show that only 39.98% of projects receive full funding. The $14,004 Annie The Brave founder Chelsea Coulston raised will be allocated solely to production costs which includes fabric, hand-drawn designs, quantity and printing. Coulston’s mission behind Annie The Brave is to help girls propel into STEM careers. With a daughter whose dream is to be a scientist who studies fashion requesting a “science girl dress,” and the new-found knowledge of there not only being no pre-made dresses on the market, but also no fabric options to DIY it herself, Coulston decided to outsource.
That’s when she realized there could be more to this. Not having these dresses on the market isn’t exactly a fashion emergency but having to tell a 6-yearold there is no science girl reaffirms what society tells females- those things aren’t for you. In fact, data from the 2015 Always Confidence and Puberty Survey suggests that around 72% of girls feel like society dictates what they can and cannot do. The girls clothing section in online and physical retail stores also subconsciously confirms the study.
What options do those girls who want to wear scientists, a dress, the color pink, and play soccer have? Media personalities, celebrities, and general consumers have all voiced their concern over the lack of STEM options for little girls. Coulston is changing the narrative, encouraging little girls to show off their love for science, space, the ocean, construction, dinosaurs, and more, through their simultaneous love for dresses and climbing trees. Annie The Brave is taking little girls on a journey from childhood to adulthood, teaching them to embrace and excel in the interests that sets their souls on fire, not what society suggests. “I had to tap into my own bravery to put Annie The Brave on the market.
I wanted to prove to myself, and show my daughters, that if you put fear aside and overcome that little voice in your head, you can succeed. Annie The Brave is more than a clothing line, it’s a community supporting little girls’ dreams,” said Chelsea Coulston, founder of Annie The Brave. “Being a part of the small percentage of Kickstarter projects that receives funding is an honor.
Knowing our mission is resonating with consumers is the highest praise we could hope for.” A combination of daughter’s Peighton Anne and Millie’s names, Annie The Brave represents a strong female who isn’t afraid to do or be anything. The word brave was derived from a TED Talk by Caroline Paul, one of the first female firefighters in San Francisco who recalled being told she was brave just for doing her job. The next Annie The Brave collection will be released early fall and will include patterns such as construction, dinosaurs, and airplanes.
In the future, Coulston plans on expanding size offerings, adding pockets to dresses, bringing Annie [The Brave] to life, and collaborating with more like-minded STEM organizations. For Kickstarter, Annie The Brave teamed up with GoldieBlox for a STEM Girl Starter Kit. For more information on Annie The Brave please visit www.AnnieTheBrave.com.
